ISSUE FOCUS FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE March 2025 55 Feed efficiency is key to optimizing productivity across various species, including cattle, pigs, poultry, shrimp and fish. Seaweed-based solutions offer innovative ways to enhance feed conversion ratio (FCR) and animal performance, driving profitability in both livestock and aquaculture. In animal production systems, traits related to the final product or “outputs,” such as carcass quality, growth, and reproductive-related traits, are commonly used as evaluation criteria in production programs. Nevertheless, profitability in animal operations is also determined by feeding costs and other variable inputs. It is noteworthy to highlight that the costs or “inputs” involved in feeding can reach up to 70% of the total costs of animal production (Patience et al., 2015, Alqaisi et al., 2017, Wen et al., 2021, Kava et al., 2023). However, the animal feed industry is still facing high prices due to reduced global agricultural supply caused by for example COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the impact of climate change on crop production. In this context, exploring alternative and environmentally friendly feed sources for sustainable livestock production, as well as farming animals as efficiently as possible to minimize feed input, is crucial to ensure future food security and cost savings. Among various novel animal feed ingredients, seaweeds, also called marine macroalgae, are considered potentially viable and sustainable feeding resources for livestock. COMBINING SUSTAINABILITY WITH HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE Seaweed offers several advantages over traditional land-based farming, including the use of saltwater instead of freshwater, the shift to sea-based agriculture, the elimination of the need for industrial fertilizers, and impressive biomass productivity per unit of surface area (Buschmann et al., 2017). Consequently, cultivating and utilizing various species of macroalgae for food and feed purposes represents a promising sustainable solution to address potential food and feed security challenges, as evidenced by the significant increase in global macroalgae biomass production. Marine macroalgae and its extracts have gained significant importance as a feed source for animal production due to their antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties, as well as their ability to improve performance and feed efficiency (Angell et al., 2016, Morais et al., 2020, Lomartire et al., 2021, Anderson et al., 2023). The bioactive components in seaweed enhance gut health by promoting intestinal mucosal metabolism, improving nutrient absorption, and supporting overall animal health. As a result, incorporating seaweed into livestock diets not only strengthens food securiSEAWEED: A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION FOR FEED EFFICIENCY Rafaela Kava Global Product Manager Ocean Harvest Technology
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